Falling Gently Podcast

<p>It is very true that my best friend in middle school was a tree</p><p>I’ve actually had numerous tree-best-friends</p><p>And even a couple of mystical experiences with trees</p><p>While the human world often feels...

<p>When I was 8 years old, the University of Pennsylvania quarterback came to our house for Thanksgiving dinner</p><p>He didn’t have time to travel home between games and we were happy to have a local celebrity join...

<p>Philip Shepherd tells the story of his niece losing her bracelet at a big family picnic</p><p>Everyone had been searching the grass of a huge field for ages</p><p>But when Philip arrived and heard of the...

<p>I read a book in the 90’s titled “Wholeness or Transcendence”</p><p>I remember little more than the title</p><p>And having thought, “Transcendence. Obviously.”</p><p>Transcendence was my spiritual path to unity with...

<p>There’s a tangerine tree in my garden</p><p>It’s speckled with hundreds of squat neon balls</p><p>When we moved in, they were still green and many had brown spots from the sun</p><p>But now they are bright orange and...

<p>I had an epiphany on the Epiphany, January 6</p><p>All these years, especially this last year,</p><p>I’ve been looking for a job for my values instead of for my skills</p><p>The window I’d been flying into, trying to...

<p>My guiding word for 2025 was “Reverence”</p><p>It was both a resource and a lot of pressure</p><p>Which shouldn’t surprise me, because as I learn to appreciate the Divine in All</p><p>I often have to expand my idea...

<p>One job that did not materialize for me was for a Dark Retreat company</p><p>Weirdly enough, a body worker I love had suggested spending time in the dark just a few months before I met these folks</p><p>Just be in...

<p>You may recall, 125 posts or so ago, I discussed my extremely productive misunderstanding of</p><p>The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ</p><p>In the story, Jesus arrives to a sacred temple essentially to take the...

<p>I don’t have a lot of specific, major regrets</p><p>Having married the wrong person, taken a meaningful wrong turn</p><p>I mean, I’ve made plenty of odd or suboptimal decisions</p><p>There are plenty of things I’ve...

<p>I’ve been tasked with composing a single sentence description of ‘what I do’</p><p>Never have I felt more verbose and less clear</p><p>What do I stand for? What do I want to say?</p><p>I stand for so many...

<p>My favorite at-home retreat is a 45/15 schedule</p><p>45 minutes of activity followed by 15 minutes of active rest, all. day. long.</p><p>It’s beautiful.</p><p>The first time I did it, I set myself up with...

<p>We’re funny when we’re defensive</p><p>Ridiculous may be a better word</p><p>We’re all trying so hard</p><p>We want to be acknowledged for the intelligence in our efforts</p><p>Even when they’re fruitless or...

<p>The Vedanta Society was formed around an exemplar named Ramakrishna in the late 1800’s</p><p>Once, one of his disciples was on a ferry and heard people disparaging the saint</p><p>When he got to the ashram...

<p>I can’t remember what prompted me, in meditation one day, to shift my upward and outward orientation of devotion by 90 degrees</p><p>But it’s one of my favorite remembrances</p><p>Always, I prayed up and out, to the...